Special issue on psychological and behavioral principles related to web design and conversion

Special issue on psychological and behavioral principles related to web design and conversion

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Volume 6, Issue 4

The Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing announces the call for papers for a special issue addressing the psychology and behaviors informing web site design and increasing conversion of web sites. The deadline for submission is March 30, 2013.

Purpose of the special issue

Web site design and content contribute significantly to conversion both on the web site and in subsequent offline visits to retailers (Hauser and Urban,2009; Hausman and Siekpe, 2009). However, many studies into effective web design(defined as creating conversion or increasing antecedents to conversion such as trust and loyalty) do so from a cognitive perspective (Rosen and Purinton, 2004)or invoke traditional marketing concepts, such as target marketing, that fail to consider the human elements necessary to create successful web sites; elements that touch the hearts as well as the minds of consumers.

However, some studies do approach web site design from a psychological or sociological perspective based on understanding consumer online behaviors and how to motivate consumers to take action during their online visit. In their meta-analysis, Schibrowsky, Peltier and Nill (2007) find increasing emphasis on consumer online behavior in recent research. Dr Siepke and I (Hausman and Siepke, 2009) used Uses and Gratifications theory from psychology to understand how web site design elements impact purchase intentions.

The goal of this special issue is to further develop our understanding of effective web site design that motivates purchase either online or offline. The special issue approaches this topic from a psychological and behavioral perspective that is especially important given the monumental changes in digital commerce wrought by the advent of social networks that share corporate messages and drive users to a firm's web site.

Examples of appropriate research fitting the aim of this special issue are:

• Psychological antecedents of web site conversion

• The role of social elements such as online community in driving web site conversion

• The impact of web site design elements on driving traffic to the site and/or increasing conversion

• Crowdsourcing and other user generated content and its ability to drive traffic to the web site or increase conversion

• Integration of social media with the web site to enhance conversion rates

• The evolution of trust through web site design and/or social networks

• Attitudes and behaviors related to online privacy

Certainly other topic areas fit with the aims of the special issue and any questions as to the suitability of the topic should be addressed to the Guest Editor.

Format and submission information

Submitted manuscripts should follow the format as indicated in the author guidelines on the journal web site: www.emeraldinsight.com/ jrim.htm

As a guide, papers should be between 4,000 to 6,000 words. Papers are reviewed by the special issue Guest Editor and if it is judged as suitable for this publication, the manuscripts are sent to two referees for double-blind peer review. Submissions should be made via the journal's ScholarOne site at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jrim

If you would be interested in reviewing other papers which have been submitted to this issue of the journal please indicate so on Step 4 of the ScholarOne submission process in the ``Cover Letter'' box and an account will be created for you.

Others interested in reviewing should contact the Guest Editor.

Submission deadline

The deadline for electronic submission is 30 March 2013.

Special issue Guest Editor

For more information, please contact the special issue Guest Editor: Angela Hausman, PhD (hausman1229@gmail.com).